PGA Professional Greg Hohnen and former USPGA Championship winner Wayne Grady gave Braidwood Golf Club a day to remember – all in the name of community spirit.

Image credit: Kathy Toirkens

A Celebrity Gala Dinner and Golf Day held at Braidwood Golf Club, in country NSW, has been hailed a huge success.

The fundraising event epitomises the camaraderie that
 exists across the golf industry and highlights what can be achieved when PGA Members lend a helping hand to smaller golf clubs.

It all started about 12 months ago when club committee member David Goddard made contact with Greg Hohnen, the Club Professional at
 Killara Golf Club, to discuss ideas about injecting enthusiasm and finances back into Braidwood Golf Club.

Goddard wanted to do something special for
the members and juniors, but he could hardly have envisaged how special it would turn out to be.

With Hohnen accepting Goddard’s request as a personal challenge, he jumped on the phone to old friend and fellow PGA Member, Wayne Grady.

"I told Wayne about this beautiful little 9-hole course that was struggling a bit, particularly in attracting juniors. He was more than happy to get involved," says Hohnen.

"The club then started promoting the whole thing with advertising around the town highlighting that a former USPGA Championship winner would be a special guest."

The day itself could hardly have gone any better. "We ran the clinic in the morning for about 60 members and 14 kids who had hardly ever played golf," Hohnen says.

"We also played a 9-hole exhibition match, and there was a commentator describing our shots and strategies to the crowd along the way. People loved it. Obviously having a big name like Wayne Grady involved made a huge difference."

A dinner and silent auction was
then held in the evening, with both Hohnen and Grady speaking and taking questions from among the 120 guests. "We offered our perspectives on the different lifestyles of a Club Professional and a Touring Professional."

Money raised was put back into
the club for junior development and important new equipment. Greg has been kind enough to send us some golf clubs and we’re arranging to have those cut down for the juniors," says Goddard.

"We’re a club that suffers from drought in the region too, so we’re looking at drought-proofing the course. Every dollar helps us achieve these things."

In fact the event raised more funds than expected, so Hohnen and Grady were offered the chance to donate $1000 each to a charity of their choice.

"I chose the Bowel Cancer Australia foundation, which is a charity I’ve been heavily involved with over the years through sponsored pro-ams," Hohnen says.

Hohnen urges other PGA Members
 in a position to offer assistance to smaller clubs to get out to country 
areas whenever possible.

"It’s not just
a matter of bringing more kids to the game, it’s also about getting them involved in something that’s healthy
and might benefit them for life.

The more PGA Professionals who take on this responsibility the better it is for the game and the wider community," he says.

"We’re very committed to making our club a great success, but at the same time we recognise the value
of putting effort into other areas. Braidwood Golf Club might have half
a dozen juniors take up golf from that clinic, which might turn into 10 the next year and 20 the year after."

A few months on and Braidwood Golf Club is still buzzing, according to Goddard.

"They can’t stop talking about it around the club. The feedback has been so positive," he says. "Without Greg this never could have happened.

"He was inspirational. Since the event we’ve even made some improvements to the course itself based on advice from Greg and Wayne."

And in another bonus, eight ladies who attended the gala have since visited Killara Golf Club for a two- hour clinic and a special deal to play the course, courtesy of Hohnen.